Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 2:44 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 4:26 p.m.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said mixed precipitation and snow are likely to fall in Davidson County overnight Thursday.

A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Davidson County from 6 p.m. Thursday until 4 Friday morning with potential snow accumulations of one to three inches possible, said Ryan Ellis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“If it moves just a few miles either way, the totals could change,” Ellis said, adding that accumulations shouldn’t total more than four inches.

A powerful low pressure system is expected to move steady rains through most of the Carolinas on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. As colder air moves in, rain is expected to change to snow.

It appears most of the accumulations will take place between 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday, Ellis said.

“We may get that much snow, but how much of that sticks around is probably quite a bit less,” Ellis said. “It may impact the morning commute on Friday, which can make things a little more dangerous.”

Crews with the N.C. Department of Transportation are preparing for the worst. Bobby Leonard, a transportation supervisor with the Davidson County NCDOT Maintenance Yard, said crews have readied all available plows and spreaders.

“We put all of our contractors on notice, in case we might need them,” Leonard said, adding that about 30 trucks from various contractors in the county will be on call Thursday night. “A few of our crews will stay all night Thursday and into Friday.”

Leonard said his crew will continue to monitor the storm as it approaches.

The high Thursday is expected to come close to 48 degrees, with a low of about 28 degrees later into the evening, according to the National Weather Service. Winds greater than 10 mph will be prominent most of the day and could gust up to 28 mph at night.

There is a 90 percent chance of precipitation throughout the day Thursday, according to the weather service.

Steady rains have been welcomed by some Davidson County farmers and landowners this week, who continue to deal with moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

However, the rains have also caused flooding in some parts of the county. NCDOT crews were forced to close portions of Horseshoe Neck Road in western Davidson County on Wednesday afternoon due to water over the road. NCDOT expected the closure to continue until 9 a.m. Thursday.

Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.

<p>Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said mixed precipitation and snow are likely to fall in Davidson County overnight Thursday.</p><p>A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Davidson County from 6 p.m. Thursday until 4 Friday morning with potential snow accumulations of one to three inches possible, said Ryan Ellis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.</p><p>“If it moves just a few miles either way, the totals could change,” Ellis said, adding that accumulations shouldn't total more than four inches.</p><p>A powerful low pressure system is expected to move steady rains through most of the Carolinas on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. As colder air moves in, rain is expected to change to snow.</p><p>It appears most of the accumulations will take place between 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday, Ellis said.</p><p>“We may get that much snow, but how much of that sticks around is probably quite a bit less,” Ellis said. “It may impact the morning commute on Friday, which can make things a little more dangerous.”</p><p>Crews with the N.C. Department of Transportation are preparing for the worst. Bobby Leonard, a transportation supervisor with the Davidson County NCDOT Maintenance Yard, said crews have readied all available plows and spreaders.</p><p>“We put all of our contractors on notice, in case we might need them,” Leonard said, adding that about 30 trucks from various contractors in the county will be on call Thursday night. “A few of our crews will stay all night Thursday and into Friday.”</p><p>Leonard said his crew will continue to monitor the storm as it approaches.</p><p>The high Thursday is expected to come close to 48 degrees, with a low of about 28 degrees later into the evening, according to the National Weather Service. Winds greater than 10 mph will be prominent most of the day and could gust up to 28 mph at night.</p><p>There is a 90 percent chance of precipitation throughout the day Thursday, according to the weather service.</p><p>Steady rains have been welcomed by some Davidson County farmers and landowners this week, who continue to deal with moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.</p><p>However, the rains have also caused flooding in some parts of the county. NCDOT crews were forced to close portions of Horseshoe Neck Road in western Davidson County on Wednesday afternoon due to water over the road. NCDOT expected the closure to continue until 9 a.m. Thursday.</p><p>Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.</p>